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William Drennan
Dr. William Drennan (May 23, 1754 - February 5, 1820) was an Irish poet and physician. A political radical, he was one of the chief architects of the Society of United Irishmen.William Drennan, Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography. Web, Jan. 18, 2017. Life Youth and education Born in Belfast in 1754, William was son of Rev. Thomas Drennan (1696–1768), minister of Belfast's First Presbyterian Church. Thomas Drennan was an educated man from the University of Glasgow, and was ordained to the congregation of Holywood, co. Down, in 1731. William Drennan was heavily influenced by his father, whose religious convictions served as the foundation for his own radical political ideas. His sister, Martha, married fellow future United Irishman Samuel McTier in 1773. In 1769 he followed in his father's footsteps by enrolling in the University of Glasgow, where he became interested in the study of philosophy. In 1772 he graduated in arts and then in 1773 he commenced the study of medicine at Edinburgh. After graduating in 1778 he set up practice in Belfast, specialising in obstetrics. He is credited with having been one of the earliest advocates of inoculation against smallpox, and of hand washing to prevent the spread of infection. In 1783 he moved to Newry and in 1789 to Dublin, where he quickly became involved in nationalist circles. United Irishmen Like many other Ulster Presbyterians, William was an early supporter of the American Colonies in the American Revolution, and joined the Volunteers who had been formed to defend Ireland for Britain in the event of French invasion. The Volunteer movement soon became a powerful political force and a forum for Protestant nationalists to press for political reform in Ireland, eventually assisting Henry Grattan to achieve home rule in 1782. However Drennan, like many other reformers, quickly became dismayed by the conservative and sectarian nature of the Irish parliament, and in 1785 he conceived the idea of a secret society, organized on Masonic lines, to fight for the radical causes of free trade, parliamentary independence, and Catholic emancipation. The French Revolution breathed new life into the Irish radical movement. In October of 1791, Drennan's society was formed at a meeting in Belfast. Drennan wanted to call it the Irish Brotherhood; but Wolfe Tone (who was present as an observer) suggested "Society of United Irishmen," the name that was adopted."Dr. William Drennan: The true founder of the Society of United Irishmen," 5, Ulster-Scots.com. Web, Jan. 19, 2017. Drennan wrote many political pamphlets for the United Irishmen and was arrested in 1794 for seditious libel, a political charge that was a major factor in driving the United Irishmen underground and into becoming a radical revolutionary party. Although he was eventually acquitted, he gradually withdrew from the United Irishmen. He continued to campaign for Catholic emancipation; in 1795 he wrote A Letter to the Earl Fitzwilliam, which called for equal political rights for all Irishmen. Despite Drennan's links with revolutionary republicans, he gradually became alienated from the post-Union nationalism of the period. His abiding concern for Liberalism and post union realities made him contemplate his political ideas anew.John Bew, The Glory of Being Britons: Civic unionism in nineteenth-Century Belfast, esp, p. 70. In 1800 he married Sarah Swanwick of Shropshire, a marriage which brought him into the circle of English dissenters like William Roscoe and Thomas Shepherd. His son, John Swanwick Drennan, was a noted poet. Regarding the Act of Union, Drennan advocated: "a FAITHFUL UNION, a real assimilation of the countries, in spirit as well as in form, not merely in virtue of parchment".Belfast Monthly Magazine, 1, 5 (31 December 1808), p. 385 Cultural activities He settled in Belfast in 1807, after inheriting a large fortune. He was the founder and editor of a literary magazine, Belfast Monthly Magazine.In 1810 he co-founded the Belfast Academical Institution, offering secondary-level and higher education to both Protestant and Catholic children. Death Drennan died in 1820. As per his directions, hi coffin was borne by an equal number of Catholics and Protestants. Writing William Drennan is chiefly remembered today for his 1795 poem "Erin", in which he penned the first reference in print to Ireland as "the emerald isle": :Nor one feeling of vengeance presume to defile :The cause, or the men, of the Emerald Isle. Also remembered is his poem "The Wake of William Orr," written in memory of a United Irishman executed by the British. Recognition Cumann Uí Ḋraiġneáin In November 2007, the William Drennan Cumann of Queens University Belfast, was founded to support the newly established Fianna Fáil society in the university. It was officially welcomed into the Fianna Fáil on 7 December 2007 by then Taoiseach and leader of Fianna Fáil, Bertie Ahern. Publications Poetry *''Glendalloch: July 1802''. London: printed by C. Mercier, 1802. *''Glendalloch, and other poems'' (with John Swanwick Drennan). Dublin: W. Robertson / London: Simpkin, Marshall / Edinburgh: J. Menzies / Belfast: H. Greer, 1859. Non-fiction *''Letters of Orellana, an Irish Helot: To the seven northern counties''. Dublin: printed by J. Chambers & T. Heery, 1785. *''A Letter to the Right Honorable William Pitt''. Dublin: printed by J. Moore, 1799. *''A Second Letter to the Right Honorable William Pitt''. Dublin: printed by George Folingsby, 1799. Letters *''The Drennan Letters: Being a selection from the correspondence which passed between William Drennan, M.D. and his brother-in-law and sister, Samuel and Martha McTier, during the years 1776-1819'' (edited by D.A. Chart). Belfast: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1931. *''The Drennan-McTier Letters'' (edited by Jean Agnew & Maria Luddy). Dublin : Women's History Project / Irish Manuscripts Commission, 1999. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:William Drennan, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Jan. 18, 2017. See also *List of Irish poets Notes External links *William Drennan at PoemHunter (8 poems) *William Drennan at AllPoetry (8 poems) ;About *William Drennan in the Dictionary of Unitarian & Universalist Biography *"Dr. William Drennan: The true founder of the Society of United Irishmen" at Ulster-Scots.com *"How did Ireland come to called the 'Emerald Isle'?" at Irish Central Category:1754 births Category:1820 deaths Category:Irish medical doctors Category:Irish poets Category:People from Belfast Category:United Irishmen Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Category:Date of birth missing Category:English-language poets Category:18th-century poets Category:Poets Category:Irish doctors